A Dinner Favorite

One of the meals that we can't get enough of and that we never have leftovers for is Beer-Braised Beef.  This comes from Cooking Light magazine, though I don't know from when exactly, and is the easiest and tastiest dish.  Ironically, neither my husband or I really drink much, so we only keep beer and wine in the house to cook with.  I actually still feel silly buying beer at the store for this recipe (and chili- I put it in that, too), like I'm 18 and trying to get away with it or something.

Beer-Braised Beef

2 pounds boneless chuck roast, trimmed, cut into 3-inch cubes (already cut and packaged stewing meat works fine)
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Cooking spray
3 cuts vertically sliced onion (about 1 large)
1 cup fat-free, less-sodium beef broth
1 12-ounce can Guinness Stout (I use different dark or red beers, depending on what's available)

Sprinkle beef with salt and pepper.  Heat a Dutch oven over medium-high heat.  Coat pan with cooking spray.  Add beef; cook 5 minutes or until browned.  Remove from pan.  Add 1 teaspoon oil and onion to pan.  Reduce heat and cook 12 minutes or until golden brown, stirring occasionally.  Return beef to pan.  Add broth and beer; bring to a boil.  Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 1 hour and 30 minutes or until tender.  Remove beef from pan; shred with two forks.  Return beef to pan; stir.


It's almost too easy.  The recipe suggests serving it over toasted Italian bread, which we tried, and then moved on to mashed potatoes, which is the most awesome combination (and I love bread).  I don't bother removing the beef from the pan to shred it- I just try not to scrape the pan when I do it.  Much easier.  Enjoy!